No griefer allowed here

Even before the COVID-19 outbreak, sandbox games like Minecraft were a favorite among video gamers. With no target to attain, players have the liberty to decide how to go on. The game, which involves players “mining” resources called blocks to create new worlds, structures, and terrain, is said to foster creativity. It is like playing with plastic bricks to build something, albeit done digitally. No wonder then Minecraft is one of the best-selling video games of all time. 

With lockdown measures and self-isolation in place, many ingenious minds have discovered that they can use Minecraft to rebuild the communities that they miss. In March 2020, amid school cancellations due to the pandemic, an elementary school in Japan held its graduation ceremony using Minecraft. Creativity truly knows no bounds and many gamers soon started to recreate their campuses using Minecraft’s building blocks. Inspired with these developments,) student leaders thought of doing a Minecraft version for Ateneo de Manila and thus, LSCampusCraft was born.

Created by LoyolaGaming, an independent organization founded by Ateneo students, LSCampusCraft features iconic campus structures and places like Arete, MVP Center for Student Leadership, JGSOM Building, Rizal Library, Red Brick Road, and the Church of the Gesú, Through LSCampusCraft, LoyolaGaming hopes to drum the idea of video games as positive driving forces in modern digital society.

“The value of video games exceeds entertainment and that they can be integral to the holistic development of character, hence our tagline “BeyondthePlay. LSCampusCraft serves this thrust of showing the capacity of video games to bring people together —a diametrically opposing view to the outdated one that gamers are anti-social,” says Lorenzo Bonifacio (BA Communication and Media Studies 2021).

He explains further. “The project timeline for LS CampusCraft was split into 3 phases: construction, administration negotiations, and launch,” he says. During the construction phase (August –September 2020), they enlisted volunteer builders from the Loyola Schools (LS) community. By the end, as Bonifacio notes, “the entire build had seen the handiwork of over 80 builders- current students and alumni. It was overseen by our chief architect Migz Villaluz (BFA Information Design 2020) and Francis Guevarra (BS Management Engineering 2021).” This is a testament to the strength of the Ateneo community and its collective desire to serve and pay it forward.

From October to December, the team sought the approval of university administrators and in the end, received the seal of partnership with the Department of Information Systems and Computer Science(DISCS), Office of Student Services (OSS), and Office of Student Activities.

Says Michael Jacinto Mallilin, director of OSS, “I believe the LS CampusCraft project is a worthwhile initiative by students, for students which gives them a current and innovative platform to interact and meet in a virtual Ateneo campus. For students, particularly the freshies who have not yet stepped foot inside the physical campus, this virtual experience can give them a further sense of belonging and identity, and have them immersed in a virtual Ateneo that is both fantastic and familiar and that will make them feel right at home. “

Since its beta launch in January 2021, a total of 470 students have registered with 89 active users playing in the first week alone.

Ultimately, Bonifacio hopes that more Ateneans will get to enjoy LSCampusCraft.

“We hope to explore integrated executions with LS offices so events like OrSem. freshmen tours, Rec Week, and even graduations can be hosted on LSCampusCraft. The server is meant to be a multiplayer experience where students can mingle and interact. More than anything, we’re just happy to give the LS community a way to cope with their separation from the campus. Our tagline “Let’s go home” tells the story of the experience we’re hoping to capture.”

Sign up now!

https://bit.ly/LSCampusCraftRegistration

Watch the launch trailer below

Griefer, in  multiplayer video game lingo, is someone who irritates other player/s